Musical instruments having struck vibrating members



K. CSER Feb. 28, 1967 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS HAVING STRUCK VIBRATING MEMBERS Filed Sept. 28, 1964 INVENTOR. KAI/20L Y (552 3,306,151 Patented Feb. 28, 1967 3,306,151 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS HAVING STRUCK VIBRATING MEMBERS Karoly Cser, Budapest, Hungary, assignor to Bacs-Kiskun Megyei Fiuonrmechauikai Vallalat, Kecskemet, Hungary, a firm Filed Sept. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 399,574 4 Claims. (Cl. 84-404) This invention concerns improvements in or relating to musical instruments having struck vibrating members.

It is an object of the invention to provide a novel musical instrument of light weight which requires only little space so that it can be placed upon a table. Nevertheless, it has a keyboard like a piano so that it can be played relatively easily. The musical instrument according to the invention is suitable for the preliminary study of the piano or for practising but, considering that it has a very beautiful, vibrating tone, it serves not only for purposes of study but is also suitable for entertainment, concerts, dance music, etc. The keyboard and the provision of electrical amplification of the notes have the advantage that artistic effects may be achieved by suitably depressing the keys, that is by the type of touch used. The so-called dynamics of music are thus not created by electrical amplification but by the striking of the keys.

The principle of the invention consists in that the strings consist of wires or strips bent in U-shape and having legs of different lengths, which strings are clamped at the end of the shorter leg. Experience going back over many years has shown that, by suitable tuning, i.e., by a thickness and shape ascertained experimentally, the stringwhich can also be described as a J-shaped wireis capable of producing very beautiful, vibrating sounds, the pitch of which constantly varies to a small extent. The string which is struck produces a long-lasting sound. For achieving the corresponding vibration, the string can be flattened, e.g. over a part of its length, on two sides, and have instead of a circular cross section, a shape in cross section, which is bounded by two straight lines and two circular arcs. The effects which can be achieved in this manner can only become apparent, however, if the string or sound-producing means has a U-shape with legs of different lengths and is clamped at the end of the shorter leg. The clamping is preferably effected in a sounding block made of cast iron, with the aid of conical screws.

FIGS. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings show two embodiments, of the invention by way of example in a diagrammatic side view, and FIG. 3 shows a detail.

According to FIG. 1, a frame 7 carrying a sounding block 13 is fixed to a base plate 1 which can be placed upon a table. Conical plugs 14 and J-shaped strings 9that is U-shaped strings having legs of different lengthsthe longer legs of which freely extend forwardly and lie in the horizontal position, are secured in this sounding box with the aid of screws. Between each two strings 9, there is located a microphone 10 each microphone being held by a carrier arm 11 mounted on the sounding block. The microphones serve to amplify the sound in a manner known per se.

At the end, remote from the player-of the key 2, which is rockable in a vertical plane about a rod 3 there is located a lifter 4 which exerts its action on release means located at the end of a hammer 6. A small piece of leather or felt is fixed at the point of contact on the release means the latter being rotatable about a carrier 8. When the key is depressed, the lifter 4 will push the hammer 6 upwardly; if this depression of the key is effected slowly, the hammer, in the completely depressed position of the key, will only rise to the level shown in a broken line, and will not reach the string nor produce a sound. If, however, as is usual when playing, the key is depressed sharply, the hammer will move further due to its swinging movement and strike the string 9 from below.

In this manner beautiful vibrating sounds can be produced, which will be amplified by the microphones and for this reason the musical instrument can be referred to as an electric Vibraphone.

A sound damper 12 is, also fixed to the key, and in the position of rest engages the string but is lifted therefrom at the moment of striking.

Compared to other constructions, the construction of the keys shows at once an outstanding simplicity which naturally provides a low-cost manufacture and a long life. Another great advantage of the arrangement of the keys is the fact that if the player, after depressing them, does not allow the key to return completely but stops it, for example, half way and depreses it again, the key will again produce a sound since the hammer strikes the string again from below, as e.g., in pianos with a so called English movement. As is known, in the conventional pianos otherwise called Vienna pianos, it is necessary to allow the key to move up completely after it has been depressed, if it is intended to repeat the note since a slightly raised and again depresed key does not produce a sound. With the English movement, however, one and the same string can also be struck several times in quick succession since the key again depressed after even a slight return movement, again produces a sound.

With the construction of the keys according to the invention, this advantage is also achieved since the lifter 4 is continuously supported on the release means 5, except for those few fractions of a second during which the hammer is lifted due to its own swinging movement and the string can be struck successively and several times in this manner, even with short movements of the key. This result was achieved with a much cheaper construction than with the English movement used for a long time, and indeed the construction according to the invention is simpler and cheaper than the Viennese construction of keys which has hitherto been considered .to be cheapest,

For achieving the advantages described, the hammeras is shown in the drawing-is substantially Z-shaped so that one of the shorter arms strikes the string whilst the other short arm which constitutes the release means 5, which is mounted in the carrier 8, is supported on the lifter 4. The supporting is effected at the longitudinal centre of this release means on a corner part thereof, although when the key is depressed, the lever 4 no longer touches the corner but the side surface 5a.

As an important advantage of the invention, it should be mentioned that a single tuning of the musical instrument will satisfy requirements for many years without any changes, and the relatively frequent tuning which is unavoidable in pianos, is thus not necessary. The tuning itself is effected, as has been mentioned, by selecting the appropriate thickness and length of the string and, furthermore, by a filing action carried out at other points of the string, e.g. by a flattening of the cross section and by clamping it at suitable points. In this manner it is possible to produce a sound generator from the material of a piano string having a thickness of about 2 mm. which has the above-mentioned shape and is secured in the sounding block in the manner described, by which a beautiful sound of the desired character and corresponding pitch is created. The vibration intensity is about 6-8 Hz. which sounds very pleasant to the ear.

The construction of the embodiment according to FIGS. 2 and 3 is based, in the first place, on the knowledge that, if the vibratory strings have a rectangular cross section and the hammer which, for the production of the sound, strikes them, is actuated in an oblique direction with respect to said strips they will vibrate in two planes extending at right angles to one another and will simultaneously produce two notes.

This phenomenon will be explained with reference to FIG. 3 of the accompanying drawings. This figure is a front elevation of an e.g. horizontally extending strip the rectangular end surface thereof being visible in the drawing. This strip 9 is fixed in such a manner that its cross section is neither horizontal nor upright but assumes an oblique position between those two positions. The impact of the hammer is effected, corresponding to the arrow, in the upward direction, i.e. vertically, and not parallel to any side of the rectangle but in a direction which is oblique relative to both sides. The strip thus starts to vibrate simultaneously in two directions at right angles to one another and, since one vibration is faster than the other due to the rectangular shape, two notes are formed simultaneously. If the microphone 10 is now shifted into the upper position shown in full lines in the drawing, it will mainly receive and amplify one note, i.e. according to the drawing the higher note and make audible in the other (lower) position the lower notes. In the centre position, the microphone amplifies both notes.

The musical instrument according to the invention is also suitable for producing vibrating sounds. The vibrations are produced in that a microphone located in the instrument is connected with a magnetic coil. If in front of the magnetic coil or magnet one or more iron plates are moved, the magnetic field varies and the same process will also take place in the microphone so that a beautiful vibrating sound will result. The iron plate is moved preferably by a small electromotor through the intermediary of a conical shaft, the vibrations being adjustable, as desired, by varying the speed of revolution. The same effect can also be achieved e.g. by varying the electric current if the number of oscillations coincides with the periodicity of the alternating current.

According to the invention, it is thus possible to derive from one and the same sound producer, namely vibratory strips having a rectangular cross section, several notes and to make them audible electrically since for this purpose only the microphone has to be moved into different positions with respect to the rod.

The musical instrument constructed in this manner is illustrated diagrammatically and by way of example in FIG. 2. The keys 2 are disposed in a frame and actuate a hammer 6 which strikes the strips 9 from below. These strips are, as shown of generally U-shaped, one leg of the U being shorter than the other and the fixing being effected on the shorter leg. Each strip is mounted within the block 13 in a plane oblique with respect to the ver- 'tical.

From the key, force is transmitted by the lifter 4 which is resiliently mounted on the key and held in the desired position by a support 20. The microphones 10 are secured by means of the carriers-11 to the bar 19 which is rotatable by means of a pedal 15. Thus, if the pedal is depressed or released, the microphones move in the vertical direction and produce different notes. This result can, naturally, also be achieved whether the rectangle forming the cross section of the sound-producing strips is located in a vertical or horizontal plane so long as striking is effected in an inclined direction; this construction is, however, somewhat more cumbersome.

A resilient sound damper 17 presses against the strips and thus prevents vibrations thereof, except when rods 18 remove his damper. For this purpos a pedal 16 has to be depressed, as a result of which the dampers 17 are urged to the right as shown in the drawing and as free oscillation of the sound-producing strings 9 is made possible. After short practice, the use of two pedals causes no difficulties to the musician.

Tuning is effected by a variation of the length and cross section of the strips 9 and again the important fact has to be taken into consideration that a mistuning is practically not possible with this musical instrument, i.e. after the rods have once been adjustedin contrast to string instrumentstheir sound will not vary for a very long time. It should also be mentioned that the strips can also be clamped in the block 13 in such a manner that more strips than one lie immediately next to one another so that the hammer 6 simultaneously strikes e.g. two strips.

The number of microphones can be greater, i.e. also two microphones can be associated with one hammer. An even greater possibility of variation for producing various sounds thus results.

According to experience, the instrument is very well suited for use in connection with a broadcasting system and a good tone even without a special amplifier.

The hammer 6 has besides the lifter 4 a depression 5a and the lifter 4, when the hammer falls back, rests in this depression. The hammer can thus be prevented from striking twice. Thus, even with a very strong impact, the key strikes the sound producer only once, and some very beautiful playing is possible with a simple and cheap mechanism.

What I claim is:

1. A musical instrument comprising a sounding block, a string in the form of a wire secured in said sounding block, a hammer, means for moving the hammer in a plane toward and away from said string to strike the string, said string being of rectangular cross section and being so disposed with respect to said plane that said plane is not parallel to any side of said string, a microphone, and means mounting said microphoneadjacent said string for movement transversely of the length of said string in a plane that is not parallel to any side of said string thereby to vary the reproduced amplitude of the tonal components of the note emitted by said string.

2. A musical instrument as claimed in claim 1, there being a plurality of said strings of different size and a plurality of hammers one individual to each string, and a keyboard for selectively operating said hammers.

3. A musical instrument as claimed in claim 1, said string being generally U-shaped with legs of different length, the shorter leg of said string being secured in said sounding block while the longer leg extends free.

4. A musical instrument as claimed in claim 1, in which said hammer and microphone are movable in vertical planes, said string being disposed with a lower corner lying in the plane of movement of said hammer.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 137,643 4/1873 Whitney 84403 2,480,131 8/1949 Hammond 841.14 2,942,512 6/1960 Miessner 84-1.14 2,972,922 2/1961 Rhodes 84403 X 3,007,363 11/ 1961 Miessner 84-115 FOREIGN PATENTS 3,080 1901 Great Britain.

RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner.

LEO SMILOW, Examiner.

I. W. .HARTARY, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COMPRISING A SOUNDING BLOCK, A STRING IN THE FORM OF A WIRE SECURED IN SAID SOUNDING BLOCK, A HAMMER, MEANS FOR MOVING THE HAMMER IN A PLANE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID STRING TO STRIKE THE STRING, SAID STRING BEING OF RECTANGULAR CROSS SECTION AND BEING SO DISPOSED WITH RESPECT TO SAID PLANE THAT SAID PLANE IS NOT PARALLEL TO ANY SIDE OF SAID STRING, A MICROPHONE, AND MEANS MOUNTING SAID MICROPHONE ADJACENT SAID STRING FOR MOVEMENT TRANSVERSELY OF THE LENGTH SAID STRING IN A PLANE THAT IS NOT PARALLEL TO ANY SIDE OF SAID STRING THEREBY TO VARY THE REPRODUCED AMPLITUDE OF THE TONAL COMPONENTS OF THE NOTE EMITTED BY SAID STRING. 